Some underground drilling processes require that operators circulate drilling fluid, known as mud, to a bottom hole assembly cutting through subterranean formations. The mud, along with cuttings from the drilling process, flow back up the wellbore to the surface. A mud circulation system is generally required, which includes a mud pump system that circulates the mud down the drill string and up an annulus formed between the drill string and the wellbore. The mud is cleaned, and cuttings are removed before recirculating the mud back down into the wellbore. In order to clean the mud, the mud is passed through a shaker and a mud cleaner of the mud circulation system, where the cuttings are removed and discarded.
In offshore drilling, cranes are generally required to load the drilling equipment onto a drilling platform during assembly of the drilling platform. Generally, smaller cranes are more cost efficient than larger cranes. Therefore, it is desirable for the drilling equipment to have a light weight, which allows a smaller crane to load the drilling equipment onto the drilling platform. Moreover, due to the cost associated with a large footprint of a drilling platform, drilling equipment that has a small footprint is desirous. As such, the arrangement, weight, and footprint of all mud circulation system components are important.
The present disclosure is directed to a master shaker module for drilling rigs and methods that overcome one or more of the shortcomings in the prior art.